Pie and donut charts in Power BI - Dashboard Guide

Dashboard Mode - Pie and donut charts

Dashboard Goal

Understand how sales are distributed across different product categories using pie and donut charts.

Sample Data

Category	Sales
Electronics	300
Clothing	200
Home & Garden	150
Sports	100
Books	50

Dashboard Components

KPI Card: Total Sales

Shows the total sales amount across all categories.

Measure formula: Total Sales = SUM(Sales[Sales])

Result: 800

Pie Chart: Sales by Category

Displays the proportion of sales for each product category as slices of a pie.

Data: Category and Sales columns

Visual details: Each slice sized by sales amount, with labels showing category names and percentages.

Donut Chart: Sales by Category

Similar to the pie chart but with a hole in the center for a cleaner look.

Data: Same as pie chart

Visual details: Slices sized by sales, center can show total sales or remain empty.

Dashboard Layout

+----------------------+----------------------+
|      Total Sales      |   Pie Chart: Sales   |
|       (KPI Card)      |   by Category        |
+----------------------+----------------------+
|                      Donut Chart: Sales by   |
|                      Category                |
+---------------------------------------------+

Interactivity

Adding a slicer for Category lets users select one or more categories. When a category is selected:

• The Total Sales KPI updates to show the sum of selected categories.
• The Pie Chart updates to show only the selected categories and their sales proportions.
• The Donut Chart updates similarly to reflect the filtered data.

This helps users focus on specific categories and compare their sales visually.

Self Check

Question: If you add a filter to show only Electronics and Books, which components update and what do they show?

Answer: All three components update:

• Total Sales shows 350 (300 + 50).
• Pie Chart shows two slices: Electronics (about 86%) and Books (about 14%).
• Donut Chart shows the same two categories with matching proportions.

Key Result

Dashboard showing total sales and sales distribution by product category using pie and donut charts.